Sweet Pea is 38 months old.
From: This is a very fun and easy outdoor activity that I saw on the excellent Teach Mama blog.
Material:
- Pleasant weather.
- An old paintbrush.
- Bowl of water.
- Concrete, wood, rocks or any other object that can be “painted” with water.
Procedure:
- Bring your materials and your tot outside.
- Wet the paintbrush and show your tot how to paint on the concrete.
- Hand your tot the paintbrush and let him or her try.
Observations: Sweet Pea was so happy with this activity. At first, she liked just making random marks on the ground, but soon was trying to paint shapes and flowers.
On several mornings, we’ve gone outside and done this activity. I get her set up and paint with her while I drink a cup of tea. This activity is free, easy, and she loves it, so I would highly recommend you give it a try with your tot.
I think Sweet Pea would paint all day, but I am a delicate flower and start wilting in the heat of summer. She is always very unhappy when I insist that we return indoors to air conditioning.
Notes from the Trenches: It is likely that your tot will destroy the paintbrush by grinding it into the concrete so don’t use a good paintbrush for this activity. We used some cheap ones that were left over from spent Paint with Water books.
Rating: 4 Stars * (Fun, Easy, Independent, Frugal)
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Your little one is super cute! We love water painting outside too.
What a fun idea!! When I taught preschool- we had them use big paint brushes to “paint” the walls… I’ll have to remember this with my own kiddos!
Blessings,
Jessica
Oooo, I used to do this all of the time with older daughter. Thanks for the reminder. I’m going to buy some house painting brushes when I’m at the Dollar Tree today and let them have at it.
We do this on hot days at school. I love mixing in some washable tempera paint (very diluted but the water in the bowl looks full of color) and it colors the sidewalks/etc. Because there are so many kids I will often tie bundle of cheap yarn and have them use that instead of brushes. I tell the to make a mess and they can toss them, swing them, spin them and let them experiment with ways to color the pavement!
I love the idea of using the yarn brushes. Sweet Pea would have a great time doing that!
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[…] also tried painting outside with water and my oldest really likes that one. He’s had 3 sessions […]